Delhi High Court Places Indian Olympic Association Under CoA

A division bench comprising Justice Manmohan and Justice Najmi Waziri said that if a sports federation does not comply with the law of the land, it will receive no recognition from the Government.

“It is better that a legitimate body represents the cause of sportspersons than one simply masquerading as the real champion of Indian sports,” the High Court said. (Representative Image)

The Delhi High Court put the affairs of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) in the hands of a Committee of Administrators (COA) as per a recent Supreme Court order on Tuesday.

The High Court had ordered Narinder Batra to stop functioning as the IOA president in May “in a contempt proceeding”.  Mr. Anil Khanna, senior vice-president was the acting President since.

"It is better that a legitimate body represents the cause of sportspersons than one simply masquerading as the real champion of Indian sports. Fairness and legitimacy need to imbue all public affairs. Recalcitrant entities which defy adherence to rules of the game, while continuing to unjustly enjoy government's largesse and patronage, must be called-out," the Court said.

A division bench comprising Justice Manmohan and Justice Najmi Waziri said that if a sports federation does not comply with the law of the land, it will receive no recognition from the Government.

The Court relied on the recent Supreme Court order in All India Football Federation vs. Rahul Mehra dated May 18, 2022., wherein the All India Football Federation was also put under a CoA to oversee the operations of AIFF.